The 2021–2022 state budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 12, invests more than $600 million in the cultural sector of the economy, according to an analysis by the advocacy group Californians for the Arts.
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When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the 2021-22 state budget on July 12, the arts, culture and live events industries got $616 million — a figure that, according to many longtime arts advocates, could herald a new era in how the state supports the arts.
Ron P. Muriera, board president of Californians for the Arts, a co-founder of San Jose Arts Advocates as well as a consultant and artist himself, remembers when the California Arts Council had less than $1 million to grant to the entire state, in the 2003-04 fiscal year.
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Reopening guidelines written by Californians for the Arts reference a California Department of Labor report indicating that the arts, entertainment and recreation sector saw the largest percentage of job loss in the state, 40.3% from March 2020 to August 2020, compared to that of the leisure and hospitality sector which saw a job loss rate of 27%.
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“Senator Susan Rubio has emerged as one of our leading champions for the survival and sustainability of small nonprofit performing arts organizations and arts workers,” said Julie Baker, Executive Director of California Arts Advocates.
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“As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media, I am thankful to have the opportunity to work with leaders in these industries that have been especially hit hard during the pandemic,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “We have worked collaboratively to advocate for funds needed to ensure that California’s Recovery will include funding for our creative and artistic industries, and tourism.”
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The Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award honors an individual at the state level whose arts advocacy efforts have dramatically affected the political landscape. Stay tuned for more Leadership Award honoree highlights leading up to the virtual convening!
Read MoreIn this episode our featured voice is the Executive Director of Californians for the Arts Julie Baker. The focus of this week’s show is on how the covid-19 pandemic is impacting our creative economy, its workforce, state legislation to support the recovery of the creative economy as well as how a historical San Francisco outdoor music festival is reopening within a pandemic.
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“Until several months ago…there was nothing on (the Blueprint) for any type of live event, theatre event, music, or anything like that,” she said.
After she and other art advocates pushed the state to make a plan for these businesses, the guidelines followed suit with restaurants and other indoor spaces, capping the number of people allowed inside. Even in the least restrictive Yellow Tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, venues could only host 25% of a full house.
Sacramento City Council Member Eric Guerra wants to be California’s next State Senator; we talk with him about his run for District 6 in our latest series of interviews with candidates. California’s arts community is also hemorrhaging from the pandemic, and there’s a growing discussion about what it’ll take to get the industry back on its feet financially. Plus, exploring the delta town of Locke’s rich Asian history and what to know before heading to your favorite state park this holiday weekend.
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“We need to have this moment to reflect,” said Baker, “and artists are who we look to for the meaning, for the hope, for the clarity, for this cohesion, this sense of belonging — this sense of, How do we come out of this?”
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"Today's news from the governor that capacity limits will be lifted by June 15 is music to our ears! While the arts, culture and live events industries have been shut down for over a year now, we never wanted to reopen before it was safe to do so and nor could most of our sector make it work with limited capacities.”
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My conversation with the Executive Director of Californians for the Arts. This topic truly resonated with me as someone who has loved the performing arts since high school and truly misses my theatrical fix.
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100% of those who identified as Black or African American noted a loss of income while an average of all other ethnic groups identified a similar loss. Because of employment loss, 43% of respondents are “reconsidering the likelihood that they can make a living in their creative practice in the foreseeable future,” 25% would “seriously consider taking a permanent non-arts related job for better compensation and stability” and 7% have “already taken a permanent non-arts related position.”
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Demson has been working with the Californians for the Arts Task Force, a statewide advocacy group lobbying for a clear reopening plan for live outdoor and indoor performances. The task force had urged health officials to allow for outdoor stages in parks and parking lots for counties in the yellow tier.
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This is a reality felt by everyone who lives and works in the Bay, but it’s particularly detrimental to artists, who are 3.6 times more likely to be self-employed. COVID took a tenuous situation and made it worse. According to a study undertaken last fall by Californians for the Arts, the state lost 175,000 creative economy jobs—a statewide decrease of 13 percent. These are not just jobs lost, but livelihoods put on hold or diverted. They’re communities fragmented, culture deflated.
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Kelly Lucera, Long Beach Symphony president, said the symphony supports the Californians for the Arts Task Force, which is advocating for a reopening plan for indoor performances.
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Kelly Lucera, Long Beach Symphony president, said the symphony supports the Californians for the Arts Task Force, a statewide advocacy group lobbying for a clear reopening plan for live outdoor and indoor performances.
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SFIAF had been working since the summer of 2020, in consultation with over 100 Bay Area based artists and arts organizations to decide on a strategy for reopening the performing arts safely outdoors in 2021.The October prototype program was the first manifestation of that. SFIAF is also a member of Californians for the Arts and has worked as part of that organization's Reopening Arts Task force.
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Today on Inland Edition, Lillian Vasquez speaks with Julie Baker, Executive Director of Californians for the Arts. Julie talks about the $50 million dollars in California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grants now available for non-profit cultural institutions. She shares who can apply and how some of the grant funding might be used to help with opening things up, for the benefit of all small businesses in the state of California.
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Another report, from Californians for the Arts, released Feb. 25, lends further urgency to “Arts Workers in California.” Surveying 993 of the state’s “creative sector workers” in the fall, it found that 83% of respondents’ employment situations were affected by the pandemic and that 88% had lost income because of it.
These burdens, both reports note, are disproportionately borne by arts workers of color.
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